I longed to be the hero in the school play,
to make new friends
and have a big birthday –
But I’ve always been stopped
By the Pain in my Chest …
An uplifting story of how children can beat those anxious feelings
Category: Picture Book, Positive Living
Through this rhyming tale, we follow our young narrator through a series of stressful situations. She wants to try out for the school play and make a new friend at dance camp - but the pain in her chest always gets in her way. She finally opens up to her Mum who explains the pain in her chest is called 'anxiety'. With her Mum's understanding and support, she slowly cures the pain in her chest.
Bronagh Lee is a visual artist working in illustration, book design, drawing and painting. She graduated from NCAD with a BA Hons in Printmaking in 2016, followed by a course in Graphic Design.
Her work is playful, whimsical and fluid, a process she marries with a keenly observed layering of detail. Her illustrations evoke a sense of poignancy and old-world charm that is subtly blended with her own individual contemporary style of textured warmth, colour and movement.
Bronagh mixes a digital and analogue world to create work that explodes with colour, texture and vivid life as though viewed through a softened lens of innocence and childlike joy.
Bronagh has illustrated a number of books including ‘The Tree by the Sea’ series by Debbie Deegan and ‘Rosie’s Magic Umbrella’ by Karen Ryan.
while it may break our hearts to see little ones struggle with their feelings, showing them that it’s ok to not feel ok is vitally important … a sweet rhyming tale, following a young narrator as she finds herself in some stressful situations
a problem shared is indeed a problem halved, and though it does not instantly mean being able to take that starring role in the school play, it does help to ensure anxiety is less likely to define you, when “the more you talk, saying loud and far, that the pain in your chest is not who you are”. With expressive illustrations by Dublin-based artist Bronagh Lee, The Pain in My Chest is a positive picture book perfect for opening conversations to help young children deal with feelings of anxiety
